Expansible link bracelet with link detaching means



W. WOLF April 9, 1963 Filed Dec. 6, 1961 Wills \OoLf INVENTOR.

fittornes 3,084,503 EXPANSHBLE LINK BRACELET WITH LINK DETACHING MEANS Willy Wolf, Pforzheim, Germany, assignor to Rodi & Wienenberger Airtiengesellscbaft, Pforzheim, Germany, a corporation of German Filed Dec. 6, 1961, Ser. No. 157,454 Claims priority, application Germany Dec. 10, 1960 6 Elairns. (Qt. 5979) The present invention relates to an expansible link bracelet, especially for carrying a wrist watch which consists of two superimposed layers of casin-glike links which are offset relative to each other by the width of one half link, and in which each link casing of one layer is connected to two adjacent link casings of the other layer by means of connecting brackets the arms of which project into the link casings at both ends thereof and are pivoted relative to the casings when the bracelet is being expanded. By this pivoting movement, the bracket arms act upon leaf springs which are mounted in the casings and press these springs flat. The outer webs of the connecting brackets which face toward the longitudinal sides of the bracelet are invisible since they are completely covered up by the end walls of the link casings or by ornamental cup-shaped members which are fitted upon the ends of the link casings.

In link bracelets of the above-mentioned type in which the longitudinal sides of the bracelet are completely covered for the purpose of rounding off the longitudinal edges and for attaining a more pleasant appearance of the bracelet, there is a considerable difficulty in finding a suitable solution of shortening or lengthening the bracelet so that any retailer who sells such bracelets will also be easily able to fit the same to the wrist size of his customers Without requiring any special tools.

It is therefore the principal object of the present invention to provide an extensible link bracelet of the aforementioned type with fool-proof means for permitting the bracelet to be shortened or lengthened.

in order to attain this object, it is necessary to comply with a number of requirements some of which at least seemingly contradict each other. Thus, the shortening means should be entirely invisible during the normal use of the bracelet and should also not cause any annoyance to the wearer. They must be of such a design that any inexperienced person can carry out the shortening operation without special instructions and without special tools. On the other hand, they must be so secure that the bracelet or parts thereof will never become unhooked unintentionally or of their own accord at the points where the bracelet is adapted to be shortened or where it has been shortened. Furthermore, the shortening means must be of such a simple construction that they will not render the mass-production of such bracelets more difficult, and it must also be possible to produce them on fully automatic machines. The assembly of the individual parts of the bracelet in the course of its manufacture must also not entail any considerable additional time or labor because of a larger number of parts which might be required by the shortening means. Last but not least, the shortening means should be of such a design that even if the individual parts of the bracelet are merely gold-plated, there will be no possibility that, due to the shortening means there will be any corrosive edges where the plated material has been out which would render such bracelets unfit for use in tropical countries.

Although there have already been a number of previous proposals for shortening bracelets of this type, they all fall short in complying with one or another of the above-mentioned requirements. Furthermore, the follow- Patented Apr. 9, 1963 ing additional difficulty has to be considered. Although it is relatively simple to devise suitable shortening means at the ends of a normal bracelet which are to be connected to the wrist watch, such means cannot be employed if, for reasons of design and appearance, the bracelet varies in width along its length and widens uniforrnly or in a smooth curvature from its relatively narrow central part toward both ends which have a width substantially equal to that of the wrist watch. Obviously, in this continuously widening part of the bracelet or at its ends there is no possibility of adding or removing any links without ruining its artistic appearance. The shortening means must therefore be provided in the narrow central part of the bracelet. These narrow central links containing the shortening means should, however, not vary in their outer appearance nor in their function from all other links of the bracelet.

The object of the invention may be attained and all of the above-mentioned requirements may be fulfilled if the link bracelet of the mentioned type has the following additional features:

(a) The leaf springs of at least some of the link casings of one layer of the bracelet which are preferably located in the central part thereof are made of a length shorter than the distance between the opposite inner surfaces of the outer webs of the connecting brackets, namely, by the length of one of the bracket arms which project into the link casing;

(b) These leaf springs are normally locked within the link casing in a position in which they extend over and act upon the free inner ends of all of the bracket arms which project into the casing, and

(c) The inner Wall of each of these link casings which faces toward the link casings of the other layer is provided adjacent to each longitudinal side of the bracelet with an aperture of a width, as seen in the longitudinal direction of the bracelet, which corresponds at least to the width of the bracket arms and of a length which corresponds to the length of one of the bracket arms.

The present invention therefore resides in a combination of the above-mentioned features, namely, the provision of a shorter leaf spring, of means for securing the spring in its normal position, and of apertures in the inner wall of some of the link casings of one layer of the bracelet. By this combination of'features it is easily possible to unhook certain individual link casings from the bracelet or to lengthen the bracelet by the insertion of additional casings in the following manner;

The shortened spring is first unlocked from its position in the link casing and shifted transversely to the longitudinal direction of the bracelet so as to disengage from one of the bracket arms. By this movement, the spring completely uncovers the aperture in the inner wall of the link casing at one end thereof, that is, at one longitudinal side of the bracelet, so that the respective bracket arm may be lifted out through the aperture. Thereafter, the leaf spring is shifted at the inside of the link casing in the opposite direction transverse to the longitudinal direction of the bracelet, so that the opposite bracket arm can also be removed and the link casing will then be entirely free. After the bracket arms connecting a link casing of one layer with two adjacent link casings of the other layer are thus unhooked from the latter and the bracelet is thus shorted by one link casing of both layers, the free bracket arms may be connected to the adjacent link casings of the respective layer by reversing the above-mentioned procedure. In a similar manner it is also possible to lengthen the bracelet by adding one or more additional pairs of links. The operation of shifting the leaf spring may be carried out very easily by means of a pointed tool, for'example, tweezers, a knife, a small screw driver, or

acsases 3 the like, if the spring is removably locked in its normal position in the link casing by its own spring force.

One preferred embodiment of the invention which has proved very successful in actual practice consists in providing the apertures in the inner wall of the respective link casing of a width and length in accordance with the dimensions of an arm of the connecting bracket and within one half of the width of the inner wall of the link oasing, as seen in the longitudinal direction of the bracelet. In this manner it is only possible to remove from each link casing only the two opposite arms of one connecting bracket, while the other connecting bracket or the other pair of U-shaped brackets remains in the link casing. This is advisable because, whenever such a bracelet is to be shortened or lengthened, one whole link unit consisting of a lower link and an upper link must be removed or inserted. This form of construction also facilitates the operation of hooking the connecting brackets into the link casings and of unhooking them therefrom.

In further developing this inventive concept, it has been found advisable to provide these apertures in a position so that one longitudinal side thereof coincides with the central butt joint between the two parts of the inner wall of the link casing, while the other longitudinal side of the apertures extends parallel to but is spaced from the edge between the inner wall and the adjacent side wall of the link casing so that a narrow strip of the inner wall remains between each aperture and the respective side wall. By providing the apertures so that one longitudinal side of the apertures coincides with the butt joint between the two parts of the inner wall, the manufacture of the link casings is very simple and actually no more difficult or expensive than that of the link casings without these apertures. The marginal strips which remain adjacent to the side wall of the link casing also form an additional safety device for preventing any unintentional unhooking of the connecting brackets from the respective link casing since, before the bracket arm of one connecting bracket can be removed through the associated aperture in the inner wall of the link casing, it is not only necessary first to shift the leaf spring in this casing toward one longitudinal side of the bracelet so as to disengage from this bracket arm, but is also necessary to shift this bracket arm laterally against the action of the spring in the link casing of the other layer which clamps upon the other arm of this connecting bracket.

In order to permit the shortened, arcuately or angularly bent leaf spring to be locked in its normal central position in which its ends engage over and act upon all four bracket arms which project into the link casing, and in order to permit this spring to be unlocked from the central position and then to be shifted transversely to the direction of expansion of the bracelet, the invention further provides this leaf spring at its central apex with a transverse projection in the form of a corrugation or head which in the normal position of the spring engages resiliently into a transverse slot in the inner Wall of the link casing.

For facilitating the insertion of the bracket arms into the link casing, the ends of the biased leaf spring which press upon the outer wall of the link casing are preferably bent or beveled away from this wall and the bracket arms which are to be inserted or removed are likewise beveled at their ends. These beveled ends of the respective bracket arms may then be easily pushed between the outer wall of the link casing and the bent or beveled ends of the spring.

It has further been found advisable to make at least one of the two opposite bracket arms which are adapted to be hooked into or unhooked from the link casing shorter than the other bracket arms which project into the same link casing. This has the advantage that the leaf spring in this casing must only be made slightly shorter than the springs in the normal casings since, after the shorter bracket arm has been unhooked and the leaf spring has been shifted transversely of the bracelet, it is easily possible likewise to unhook the opposite longer bracket arm inasmuch as the two parts of the bracelet which have already been disconnected at one side may be pivoted and twisted to a considerable extent. iFor hooking the bracket arms into the link casing, it is then, however, necessary to start with the longer bracket arm.

Generally in bracelets of this type the links of the inner layer which engage with the arm are made narrower than the links of the outer layer in order to prevent the skin and hairs of the arm from being caught between the adjacent inner links after the bracelet is slipped over the Wrist and also in order to insure that the bracelet will snugly adhere to the arm. A bracelet of this type which is already secured to a watch may be twisted about its longitudinal axis to such an extent that the links of the inner layer and the bottom of the watch case which normally engage with the arm are turned toward the outside.

When the bracelet is in this position, the leaf springs are only under a very slight tension. Furthermore, the gaps between the links of the inner layer which now face outwardly are then visible and permit the insertion of a pointed tool to shift the leaf springs within the respective link casings. It is therefore advisable to provide the shortening means according to the invention, that is, the shorter, transversely movable leaf springs and the apertures in the inner wall of the link casings of one layer, in those link casings which form the outer links when the bracelet is being worn.

The above-mentioned objects, features, and advantages of the present invention will become more clearly apparent from the following detailed description thereof which is to be read with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which FIGURE 1 shows a side view of a part of a bracelet according to the invention, partly in the contracted position and partly in the expanded position;

FIGURE 2 shows a plan view of the bracelet, partly in a cross section taken along line IIII of FIGURE 1;

FIGURE 3 shows a perspective enlarged view of a link of one layer of the bracelet together with the connecting brackets which are associated with this link; while FIGURE 4 shows a View similar to FIGURE 3 of a modification of the invention.

Referring to the drawings, the flexible link bracelet according to the invention consists of a plurality of casinglike links 10 forming an upper layer and of similar links 29 forming a lower layer. Each individual link casing of one layer is pivotably connected to two adjacent link casings of the other layer by at least one pair of connecting brackets 30. These connecting brackets are preferably U-shaped as shown at 31 in FIGURE 3, and they are inserted in pairs into the link casings 26 from both ends thereof, that is, from both longitudinal sides ofthe bracelet. The connecting brackets 31 are operatively associated with arcuately or angularly bent leaf springs 49 one of which is mounted at the inside of each link casing and. is pressed flat by the connecting bracket in a direction transverse to the longitudinal direction of the bracelet when the bracelet is expanded or twisted. Springs 49 which are thus under tension then tend to return the bracelet to its normal contracted condition.

Instead of being made of two separate opposite U- shaped brackets 31, each bracket unit 34 may also consist of a single bracket 32 of an open, substantially rectangular shape, as illustrated in FIGURE 4, in which two opposite bracket arms are connected to each other.

FIGURE 12, as seen from the left toward the right, shows at first a plan view of two upper links 10, then a plan view of one and a half lower links 20 without the shortening means, and then a lower link 20 from which the inner wall is cut away and which shows the outer webs 33 of the connecting brackets 30 in section and the bent leaf spring 40 in a plan view. Finally, at the right, FIGURE 2 shows two links of one layer with the con tracting means according to the invention, as shown again in a perspective view in FIGURE 3. The second-last link in FIGURE 2 is shown in a section which is taken underneath the inner wall, While the last link shows a plan view of the inner wall of the lower link.

The links '10 and of both layers are provided with end walls 11 or 21, respectively, which cover up the longitudinal sides of the bracelet so that the outer webs 33 of the connecting brackets are completely covered and the brackets cannot be removed from the link casings unless these end walls are bent outwardly.

The shortening means according to the invention which are provided on some of the link casings of one layer,

that is, for example, of the lower links 20, will now be described in detail with reference to FIGURE 3. The inner split wall 22 of link casing 20 has approximately at the center of its length a slot 23 into which a bead or corrugation 41 resiliently engages which is provided at the apex of the bent leaf spring '40. In order to facilitate the insertion of the bracket arms 35, the ends 42 of leaf spring 40 are curved upwardly. These arms 35 lie between the ends 42 of the leaf spring and the outer wall of the link casing, and they are held in the position as illustrated in FIGURE 3 by the tension of the spring. In this position, the ends 42 of the spring engage over the ends of all four bracket arms 35 which project into the link casing 20. The bracket arms 34 which are shown in FIGURE 3 outside of link casing 20 engage in the same manner into the two adjacent link casings of the other layer, that is in this case, of the upper layer, where they cooperate in the same manner with similar leaf springs.

Each leaf spring 40 has a total length shorter by the length of one of the bracket arms 35 than the distance between the inner surfaces 36 of webs 33 of the connecting brackets. By means of a pointed tool, for example, a

knife or a small screw driver, it is easily possible to shift the leaf spring in a direction transverse to the direction of expansion of the bracelet, for example, in the direction of arrow a in FIGURE 3, until its end 42 engages against the inner surface 36 of Web 33 of at least one of the connecting brackets 33 at one side of the bracelet, whereby the other end 42 of the spring slides off at least one of the bracket arms 35 at the other side of the bracelet. This bracket arm 35 may then be removed through an aperture 25 in the inner wall 22 of link casing 20. This aperture 25 has a length and width corresponding to those of bracket arm 35, and in the embodiment according to FIG- URE 3 it is provided in such a position that one of its longitudinal sides is in alignment with the central butt joint 26 between the two parts of the inner wall 22. Thus, adjacent to the edge between the inner wall 22 and side wall 27 of the link casing 20 a narrow strip 28 remains which requires the connecting bracket 31 to be slightly shifted laterally before the bracket arm 35 can be removed through the aperture 25. This shifting can, however, only be done against the action of the -leaf spring in the associated link casing of the other layer.

After one side of the bracelet has in this manner been unhooked from the link casing, leaf spring 40 is shifted in the opposite direction b so that the opposite bracket arm 35 can likewise be removed from its associated aperture 29 opposite to aperture 25.

In the embodiment according to FIGURES 2 and 3, the bracket arm 35' is made slightly shorter than the other three bracket arms 35. After this shorter arm 35 has been removed through aperture 25 in the manner as described and leaf spring 40 has been shifted transversely to the bracelet, it is easily possible also to remove the longer bracket arm 35, since the two parts of the bracelet which are then disconnected at one side may now be bent or twisted relative to each other to a considerable extent.

By making one bracket arm 35 shorter than the other arms 35, the advantage is attained that spring 40 may be made relatively long and will therefore have a good resilience, whereas a considerably shorter leaf spring would be too hard and stiff.

The position of apertures 25 and 29, as shown in FIG- URE 3, in only one half of the inner wall 22 of link casing 20 permits the removal of only two opposite U-shaped connecting brackets 31 or of only one rectangular bracket unit 32, as indicated in FIGURE 4, while the other pair of U-shaped brackets or the other rectangular bracket remains inthe link casing 26*. This facilitates the manipulation of shortening or lengthening the bracelet since normally only one link unit consisting of a lower link 20 and an upper link 10 is to be removed or inserted.

If, however, the respective link casings should be designed to permit both pairs of connecting brackets or both rectangular brackets to be removed from the link casing, the apertures 25 and 29 are extended over the entire width of the inner wall 22 of casings 20, as illustrated in FIG- URE 4.

Obviously, it is immaterial whether the shortening means according to the invention as previously described are provided in a few of the lower links or in a few of the upper links of the bracelet. It is also immaterial whether the end walls 11 of the link casings which form the longitudinal sides of the bracelet, as shown in FIG-'- URE 1, are formed by bent-over tabs on the link casings themselves or, for example, by separate ornamental cup-s which are fitted upon the end walls.

Although my invention has been illustrated and described with reference to the preferred embodiments thereof, I wish to have it understood that it is in no way limited to the details of such embodiment, but is capable of numerous modifications within the scope of the appended claims.

Having thus fully disclose-d my invention, what I claim is:

1. In a flexible bracelet, especially for a wrist watch, having a plurality of link casings forming two superimposed layers offset relatively to each other by the width of substantially one-half link casing when said bracelet is contracted and each having an outer wall, side walls, and an inner wall facing toward the link casings of the other layer, connecting brackets connecting each link casing of one layer to two adjacent link casings of the other layer and each having arms projecting into each link casing at both ends thereof and pivotable within and relative to said casing when the bracelet is being expanded and also hav ing outer webs connecting said arms and disposed at the longitudinal sides of the bracelet, covering means on the outer ends of said casings for covering up said outer webs toward the outside, at least one normally bent leaf spring Within each casin g acting up on said bracket arms and tending to maintain the bracelet in a contracted position, said bracket arm-s adapted to bend said springs substantially flat when the bracelet is being expanded, said inner wall of at least some of said link casings of one layer having apertures adjacent to the longitudinal sides of the bracelet, each of said apertures having a width at least equal to the width of one of said bracket arms within said casing and a length substantially equal to the length of said arm, said leaf springs in said last casings of said one layer having a length shorter substantially by the length of one of said bracket arms than the distance between the opposite inner surfaces of said outer Webs of said connecting bracket-s in said last casings, and means for removably locking said short leaf springs in said last link casings in a position in which the ends of said springs extend over and act upon all of said bracket arms in said last link casings.

2. In a flexible bracelet, especially for a wrist watch, having a plurality of link casings forming two superimposed layers otfset relatively to each other by the width of substantially one-half link casing when said bracelet is contracted and each having an outer wall, side walls, and an inner wall facing toward the link casings of the other layer, connecting brackets connecting each link casing of one layer to two adjacent link casings of the other layer and each having arms projecting into each link casing at both ends thereof and pivotable within and relative to said casing when the braclet is being expanded and also having outer webs connecting said arms and disposed at the longitudinal sides of the bracelet, covering means on the outer ends of said casings for covering up said outer Webs toward the outside, at least one normally bent leaf spring within each casing acting upon said bracket arms and tending to maintain the bracelet in a contracted position, said bracket arms adapted to bend said springs substantially fiat when the braceletis being expanded, said inner wall of at least some of said link casings ,of one layer having apertures adjacent to the longitudinal sides of the bracelet, each of said apertures having a :width and length substantially equal to the width and length of one of said bracket arms within said casing and being disposed at one side of the center of the width of said inner wall, said leaf springs in said last casings of said one layer having a length shorter substantially by the length of one of said bracket arms than the distance between the opposite inner surfaces of said outer webs of said connecting brackets in said last casings, and means for removably locking said short leaf springs in said last link casings in a position in which the ends of said springs extend over and act upon all of said bracket arms in said last link casings.

3. In a flexible bracelet, especially for a wrist Watch, having a plurality of link casings forming two superimposed layers offset relatively to each other by the width of substantially one-half link casing when said bracelet is contracted and each having an outer wall, side walls, and an inner wall facing toward the link casings of the other layer and composed of two substantially equal wall portions abutting against each other substantially at the center of the width of said inner wall, connecting brackets connecting each link casing of one layer to two adjacent link casings of the other layer and each having arms projecting into each link casing at both ends thereof and pivotable within and relative to said casing when the bracelet is being expanded and also having outer webs connecting said arms and disposed at the longitudinal sides of the bracelet, covering means on the outer ends of said casings for covering up said outer webs toward the outside, at least one normally bent leaf spring within each casing acting upon said bracket arms and tending to maintain the bracelet in a contracted position, said bracket arms adapted to bend said springs substantially fiat when the bracelet is being expanded, said inner wall of at least some of said link casings of one layer having apertures adjacent to the longitudinal sides of the bracelet, each of said apertures having a width and length substantially equal to the width and length of one of said bracket arms within said casing and having one longitudinal side coinciding with the butt joint between said two wall portions of said inner wall, the other longitudinal side of said apertures extending parallel to but spaced from the edge between said inner wall and one of said side walls of said casing so as to leave a marginal strip of said inner wall, said leaf springs in said last casings of said one layer having a length shorter substantially by the length of one of said bracket arms than the distance between the opposite inner surfaces of said outer webs of said connecting brackets in said last casings, and means for removably locking said short leaf springs in said last link casings in a position in which the ends of said springs extend over and act upon all of said bracket arms in said last link casings.

4. In a flexible bracelet, especially for a wrist watch, having a plurality of link casings forming two superimposed layers offset relatively to each other by the width of substantially one-half link casing when said bracelet is contracted and each having an outer wall, side walls, and an inner wall facing toward the link casings of the other layer, connecting brackets connecting each link casing of one layer to two adjacent link casings of the other layer and each having arms projecting into each link casing at both ends thereof and pivot-able within and relative to said casing when the bracelet is being expanded and also having outer webs connecting said arms and dis posed at the longitudinal sides of the bracelet, covering means on the outer ends of said casings for covering up said outer webs toward the outside, at least one normally bent leaf spring having a central apex within each casing acting upon said bracket arms and tending to maintain the bracelet in a contracted position, said bracket arms adapted to bend said springs substantially flat when the bracelet is being expanded, said inner wall of at least some of said link casings of one layer having apertures adjacent to the longitudinal sides of the bracelet, each of said apertures having a width at least equal to the width of one of said bracket arms within said casing and a length substantially equal to the length of said arm, said leaf springs in said last casings of said one layer having a length shorter substantially by the length of one of saidbracket arms than the distance between the 0pposite inner surfaces of said outer webs of said connecting brackets in said last casings, and means for removably locking said short leaf springs in said last link casings in a position in which the ends of said springs extend over and act upon all of said bracket arms in said last link casings, said locking means comprising a transverse projection on said apex of said leaf spring, said inner wall having a transverse slot, said projection on said leaf spring remov-ably inserted into said slot and resiliently engaging with the walls thereof.

5. In a flexible bracelet, especially for a wrist watch, having a plurality of link casings forming two superimposed layers olfset relatively to each other by the width of substantially one-half link casing when said bracelet is contracted and each having an outer wall, side walls, and an inner wall facing toward the link casings of the other layer, connecting brackets connecting each link casing of one layer to two adjacent link casings of the other layer and each having arms projecting into each link casing at both ends thereof and pivotable within and relative to said casing when the bracelet is being expanded and also having outer webs connecting said arms and disposed at the longitudinal sides of the bracelet, covering means on the outer ends of said casings for covering up said outer webs toward the outside, at least one normally bent leaf spring within each casing acting upon said bracket arms and tending to maintain the bracelet in a contracted position, said bracket arms adapted to bend said springs substantially flat when the bracelet is being expanded, said inner wall of at least some of said link casings of one layer having apertures adjacent to the longitudinal sides of the bracelet, each of said apertures having a width at least equal to the width of one of said bracket arms within said casing and a length substantially equal to the length of said arm, said leaf springs in said last casings of said one layer having a length shorter substantially by the length of one of said bracket arms than the distance between the opposite inner surfaces of said outer webs of said connecting brackets in said last casings, and means for removably locking said short leaf springs in said last link casings in a position in which the ends of said springs extend over and act upon all of said bracket arms in said last link casings, the ends at least of said leaf springs being beveled away from said outer wall of said casing to facilitate the ends of said bracket arms to be inserted bet-ween said springs and said outer wall.

6. In a flexible bracelet, especially for a wrist watch, having a plurality of link casings forming two superimposed layers offset relatively to each other by the width of substantially one-half link casing when said bracelet is contracted and each having an outer wall, side walls, and an inner wall facing toward the link casings of the other layer, connecting brackets connecting each link casing of one layer to two adjacent link casings of the other layer and each having arms projecting into each link casing at both ends thereof and pivotable within and relative to said casing when the bracelet is being expanded and also having outer webs connecting said arms and disposed at the longitudinal sides of the bracelet, covering means on the outer ends of said casings for covering up said outer webs toward the outside, at least one normally bent leaf spring within each casing acting upon said bracket arms and tending to maintain the bracelet in a contracted position, said bracket arms adapted to bend said springs substantially flat when the bracelet is being expanded, said inner wall of at least some of said link casings of one layer having apertures adjacent to the longitudinal sides of the bracelet, at least one of the two opposite bracket arms in said last casings being shorter than the other bracket arms projecting into the same casing, each of said apertures having a width at least equal to the width of the respective bracket arm to be inserted into or removed from said aperture and a length substantially equal to the length of said arm, said leaf springs in said last casings of said one layer having a length shorter substantially by the length of one of said bracket arms than the distance between the opposite inner surfaces of said outer webs of said connecting brackets in said last casings, and means for removably locking said short leaf springs in said last link casings in a position in which the ends of said springs extend over and act upon all of said bracket arms in said last link casings.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 

1. IN A FLEXIBLE BRACELET, ESPECIALLY FOR A WRIST WATCH, HAVING A PLURALITY OF LINK CASINGS FORMING TWO SUPERIMPOSED LAYERS OFFSET RELATIVELY TO EACH OTHER BY THE WIDTH OF SUBSTANTIALLY ONE-HALF LINK CASING WHEN SAID BRACELET IS CONTRACTED AND EACH HAVING AN OUTER WALL, SIDE WALLS, AND AN INNER WALL FACING TOWARD THE LINK CASINGS OF THE OTHER LAYER, CONNECTING BRACKETS CONNECTING EACH LINK CASING OF ONE LAYER TO TWO ADJACENT LINK CASINGS OF THE OTHER LAYER AND EACH HAVING ARMS PROJECTING INTO EACH LINK CASING AT BOTH ENDS THEREOF AND PIVOTABLE WITHIN AND RELATIVE TO SAID CASING WHEN THE BRACELET IS BEING EXPANDED AND ALSO HAVING OUTER WEBS CONNECTING SAID ARMS AND DISPOSED AT THE LONGITUDINAL SIDES OF THE BRACELET, COVERING MEANS ON THE OUTER ENDS OF SAID CASINGS FOR COVERING UP SAID OUTER WEBS TOWARD THE OUTSIDE, AT LEAST ONE NORMALLY BENT LEAF SPRING WITHIN EACH CASING ACTING UPON SAID BRACKET ARMS AND TENDING TO MAINTAIN THE BRACELET IN A CONTRACTED POSITION, SAID BRACKET ARMS ADAPTED TO BEND SAID SPRINGS SUBSTANTIALLY FLAT WHEN THE BRACELET IS BEING EXPANDED, SAID INNER WALL OF AT LEAST SOME OF SAID LINK CASINGS OF ONE LAYER HAVING APERTURES ADJACENT TO THE LONGITUDINAL SIDES OF THE BRACELET, EACH OF SAID APERTURES HAVING A WIDTH AT LEAST EQUAL TO THE WIDTH OF ONE OF SAID BRACKET ARMS WITHIN SAID CASING AND A LENGTH SUBSTANTIALLY EQUAL TO THE LENGTH OF SAID ARM, SAID LEAF SPRINGS IN SAID LAST CASINGS OF SAID ONE LAYER HAVING A LENGTH SHORTER SUBSTANTIALLY BY THE LENGTH OF ONE OF SAID BRACKET ARMS THAN THE DISTANCE BETWEEN THE OPPOSITE INNER SURFACES OF SAID OUTER WEBS OF SAID CONNECTING BRACKETS IN SAID LAST CASINGS, AND MEANS FOR REMOVABLY LOCKING SAID SHORT LEAF SPRINGS IN SAID LAST LINK CASINGS IN A POSITION IN WHICH THE ENDS OF SAID SPRINGS EXTEND OVER AND ACT UPON ALL OF SAID BRACKET ARMS IN SAID LAST LINK CASINGS. 